Buying a Pellet Stove To Save Money? Think Again

As more and more homeowners are growing concerned over “green” home improvement solutions, they tend to turn towards many products marketing as “green” alternatives, but many such options turn out to be simply marketing hype.

There are numerous environmentally friendly choices to pick from for your next home improvement project. From compact fluorescent light bulbs, to energy efficient windows, to high efficiency furnaces, the choices seem nearly endless.

Many “green” home improvement items are sensible choices. They can save you money on utility bills, lessen your dependency on natural resources and contribute to a cleaner world.

Some choices involve a tremendous amount of trade-offs in order to help the environment while others are a win win situation. Currently, a hot trend in “green” home improvement choices is an item called a pellet burning stove. This item is typically used as a supplemental heat source for a large living area within a home or in mild climates, can be used to heat the entire home.

Though a pellet stove does have some distinct advantages, this is one of those projects discussed above that can also involved significant trade-offs. For those on a tight budget and interested in making environmentally friendly upgrades to your home, a pellet stove is not a sound investment.

A pellet stove can cost up to $4,000 in up front costs. Add in an additional $2,000 for installation and you are nearing $6,000. What can you expect for the initial investment? If you are currently using electricity to heat your home, the energy savings of a pellet stove will pay for itself in about 20 years. If you are using oil to heat your home, a pellet stove can pay for itself in about 50 year. If you are using natural gas to heat your home, a pellet stove will cost you approximately 25% more per year to operate.

Now, this is a hefty amount for most of the middle class families and therefore out of the question for them to purchase it, especially for the people of New Jersey so it is better to search for NJ Heating Oil Companies near you to help you pick the right pro Heating Oil Supplier than worry about such an offer that is way out of your budget.

Ok, so a pellet stove doesn’t make economical sense to most people, but what about the environment? A pellet stove utilizes a renewable resource as its energy source and thus cuts down or eliminates the usage of natural resources, but it does not burn as cleanly as many highly efficient furnaces, nor is the upkeep as easy. Users must store pellets in a dry area and constantly go out to purchase the pellets needed for the stove. Driving to a facility to purchase the pellets utilizes gasoline in your car several times a year.

Though a pellet stove may sound like an environmentally friendly heating solution, a high efficiency natural gas furnace is likely to have less impact on the environment, cost less to operate, and contribute less to smog and other pollutants in the atmosphere.

Sometimes a “green” choice is not always as “green” as you may think. If you are interested in using a pellet stove as a supplemental heat source, it is more efficient than a typical electric space heater and would be a wise choice. But for whole house heating, there are better, “greener” choices. Save your money and choose another home improvement project.